


Family Night In

by WindStainedDreams



Series: 629 Karys Avenue [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Anna hates Old Hubba, Aversa sings in the shower, F/F, F/M, Female My Unit - Raina, Frederick cooking, Frederick just wants to make stew, M/M, Movie Night, Multi, Raina just wants to facebook stalk the new doctor, Robin just wants his wine, The Feather Duster, Twins, family night in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-15 01:33:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8037031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindStainedDreams/pseuds/WindStainedDreams
Summary: Anna has a long day of stupid lectures.  Robin has to finish his thesis paper.  Frederick practices his cooking.  Aversa travels for things no one cares about.  Raina hates multi-vehicle pile-ups.  Family Movie Night is the only way to get everyone to forget their day.  
Too bad his sisters keep stealing Robin's wine.





	Family Night In

Anna slammed her car door and stomped her way up the walk to her home. Stupid old profs who kept going on and on about how a woman could sell products vs how men could, and that Anna really needed to learn to “use her best assets” was just more bullshit than the redhead wanted to put up with. For all the exorbitant tuition costs she paid, she’d like better education, but she needed these credits or she’d be taking an extra year. Too bad the professor was such a dickbag. The young marketing adviser would just have to grin and bear it. Professor Hubba would eventually croak or Anna would be free when she graduated, whichever came first. Or by some not so natural causes… 

Frederick was cooking a lamb stew as Anna walked in the door of their shared townhouse. The sound of her heels was distinctive on the paved walk from their driveway, and from the sound they made, Fred knew that he’d better put an extra splash of wine in the pot. And pour a glass. Must have been a bad lecture with Old Hubba. The slamming of the door just confirmed it. Heels clicked against the floor, then socked feet made a beeline for the glass that Fred had put out on the counter for his roommate. 

“Aversa’s still in the shower. Should be done soon, she’s on track 25,” Frederick told her without looking up from the herbs he was dicing, mint and thyme and bay leaves, rosemary and a touch of green onions. The bacon, beef stock, wine and spiced lamb were already bubbling in the crock pot and had been for hours. The potatoes and carrots should be soft, the onions almost caramelized. The mushrooms and other veggies shouldn’t be too far behind, and now all that was left was to ensure some more fresh herbs were mixed in. 

Anna didn’t comment, sipping large mouthfuls of the red wine Fred had set out for her. Once she was done her glass and had poured herself another, larger dose, she looked around and asked,

“Where’s your boy toy? Chained to your bed again?”

The flush that covered all of Frederick’s face was deep and instantaneous, making Anna chuckle as she patted him on the arm. It had only been the once, but Aversa hadn’t been kind to her brother and made sure all their housemates, and even some of their friends, knew what Fred and Robin enjoyed behind supposed to be closed doors. Anna was just sad that she’d missed the sight of Robin bound and blindfolded, while Fred played with his prized feather duster. 

“I’m right here, you sociopath,” came a voice from behind Anna as arms reached past her to ruffle Fred’s already tousled brown locks. The arms were followed by the white-blond man they belonged to, and soon herbs were ignored in favour of a moment spent kissing. 

Anna rolled her eyes but let the boys have their smooches. Robin was in the middle of his thesis paper, and getting grant money to continue his research depended on how well Robin could sell his theory on trauma-shaped personalities with amnesia. It stood to reason that he would be holed up doing research and writing until all hours of gods knew when, and Anna couldn't hate them for some stolen moments. Of course, she also did want to eat something other than frozen pizza, so…

“Crockpot. Boiling over,” she told Fred as she took the bottle of red and her wine to sit in the living room, settling on the couch under the pass through window. She waved the extra glasses she’d snagged at Robin, who came around the partition to join her on the couch with a sigh. 

His thesis paper was taking forever. It may have only been for an Honours Bachelor degree, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t competition. And if Robin couldn’t get approval for his thesis at the undergrad level, he’d never get more grant money to continue his research into a Masters or a Doctorate Degree. And that’s what he really wanted to do - be able to help people with research that would be listened to. Research that would actually change the way people treated those with amnesia and personality disorders. Too bad he seemed to be the only one that wanted to find out more about this small group of suffering people. Digging up anything that wasn’t utterly outdated bullshit was taking forever, and at the undergrad level he couldn’t do much of his own research without major faculty support, currently lacking. He had to make this work. 

He was sipping at the wine Anna passed him when his adopted sister walked in. 

“Already in pajamas, Versy? Isn’t it a little early?”

The grey-skinned woman grunted and leaned on the armrest of their couch, stealing her brother’s wine from his hand before giving him a shove, then moving to sit next to Anna, putting her between the two siblings. At least Frederick’s repeated warnings about not roughhousing and spilling wine on the furniture seemed to have finally stuck with the brother and sisters, although that could have been Aversa’s exhaustion making the decision for self-preservation. Even Anna didn’t want to hear another of Fred’s rants about proper order and cleanliness.

Aversa’s archeological internship was exhilarating to her, but brutal. The trip back from the Garden of Giants had taken two boat rides, first from the small island off its coast to the main island village, Garden, then from the village to the airport on the nearby Giants’ atoll. From the atoll the once weekly flight to Wellsprings had taken her and her archeological party to Yen’ri International Airport. After just over an hour in that rickety bird one could scarcely trust to hold together, the group faced almost two more hours in a plane on its way to Fort Steiger. A damned long layover had kept her group of doddering old archaeologists, starry-eyed undergrads and just plain weary interns wandering around Fort Steiger for nine hours, then they’d had four more hours flight to Sage’s Hamlet. That was just to cross the first continent. They overnighted in Sage’s Hamlet then flew on. The five hour flight from Sage’s Hamlet to Origin Peak was exceptionally brutal with hurricane season building storms midway across the ocean. Another twelve hours from Peak to Northroad, and then three hours by train to Ylisstol. An hour’s drive back from Themis Station through killer traffic and then promptly into the shower to get rid of Other People Uck. Everyone knew when Aversa was coming home and to take their showers and baths the night before, make sure their laundry was done, so that all the hot water could be used to make Aversa more bearable company. This had taken a few tries to learn, and it had been learning the hard way. 

Wet white hair dripped onto Anna’s green blouse, but today she wouldn’t complain about water spots damaging designer fabric. Instead, she pulled the tattooed woman closer while pushing the bottle and extra glass towards Robin so he could go back to drinking as well. Of the five of them, Anna and Robin usually drank the most, and her girlfriend had stolen his glass. She ran her fingers through the blond strands resting against her shoulder, scratching at her lover’s scalp until she felt Aversa cuddle closer and relax. It's true that Aversa was rarely out of her tribal gothic garb, but sometimes a quiet night in with family meant comfort over fashion. Especially after a long trip home such as the ones Aversa routinely had. 

Anna undid the top few buttons of her blouse and settled down to cuddle her girlfriend back into the world of here and now. Robin eyed her fingers as they slid through the buttons and she returned the look with a raised eyebrow. Robin’s silent flush and his scowl amused Anna, and she chuckled just in time for Raina to walk in the door and ask 

“Who did what this time?” 

This only made Robin drink a larger than intended mouthful of wine while his sisters and Anna laughed. Frederick leaned over the counter edge separating kitchen from living room and gave Robin a stern look. His flush just intensified, so Aversa said,

“He was watching my girlfriend undo her blouse.”

Raina giggled and sat on the arm of the couch, leaning over her brother to snag his wine. His protest went ignored as his second glass of wine in minutes was stolen by a sister. Fred sighed and leaned over again, holding a wine glass between two fingers before turning back to the salad he was making. As he turned around, he made sure to give the white-blond nursing student a glare, to which she responded by sticking out her tongue when his back was turned. Her hair had fallen half out of its messy bun and left scraggly hair surrounding her face that she pushed back into a semblance of order before she turned back to her brother. 

“And here I thought you were completely gay, dear brother mine. What other secrets and lies do you hold, hmm?” Raina loved ganging up on Robin with the other girls, such a pale complexion as theirs really didn’t handle embarrassment well. At least Aversa and Raina had lost their sense of shame years ago. It was just luck that the twins’ adopted sister had similar colouring, so nobody ever questioned the relationships they had. Besides, it was good to laugh with family when the medical field you were going into was so full of devastation and death. Being a traumatic brain injury nurse wasn’t going to be easy, but it let Raina feel like she was helping people that really needed it. It meant lots of studying, hours and hours of grueling practice, and patients often not making it. Her skin had gotten tougher over the course of her pre-nursing training, but it still hurt when no matter what you did, you couldn’t save a life. This training shift had been particularly brutal, with a multi-vehicle pile-up on the major highway between Ylisstol and the Plegian Border Pass. Raina had showered at the hospital, but she’d probably shower again tonight after the movie. 

“I’m happily gay, but you’ve watched Anna’s breasts more than once yourself, so I think only Frederick is really exempt from their lure.” 

“Be that as it may, no wandering eyes for you, Rob. Ladies, if one of you could get the garlic bread, dinner is served.” 

“Rob. Uh oh. Someone’s in for a spanking,” Anna teased as she got up, dragging Aversa behind her. Still, she dropped the subject, knowing Robin hated the name and Frederick using it was a warning for them all to behave themselves. Raina got the garlic bread as Anna and Aversa collected plates, bowls and cutlery. Robin tidied up the coffee table and topped up everyone’s glass, including pouring Frederick a new one he took from the ledge above the couch. 

Now that everyone was here, back from their travels and torn away from their educational trials, family movie night could properly begin. The smell of Frederick’s simple but delicious cooking (anything not frozen counted as delicious and only Frederick wanted to practice his culinary skills), a good wine, and his sisters laughing was all Robin needed to forget his worries. A little Star Wars never hurt either. 

“Hey, Doc Grima! Stop staring at my boyfriend’s ass and grab the paper towels, would you? I don't want to have to scrub more food stains out of the couch with my toothbrush,” called Robin into the kitchen, already moving his and Frederick’s wine glasses to the smaller coffee table by the love seat, ready for when his lover would come back in all fancy-waiter-like and serve him a home cooked stew to show just how much he cared. 

“It’s Nurse Grima and you know it, jackass!” Raina called back before lobbing the paper towel roll at Robin from the doorway, carrying in the plate of garlic bread and followed by Aversa with the salad bowl. Anna came out next with steaming bowls of stew on a tray, putting three bowls down for the girls. Frederick came in, carrying the last two servings on his tray, presenting them to Robin with a bow and a twinkle in his eye. 

Everyone found their spots and settled in. The couples cuddled each other, the men trying to pretend what they were doing wasn’t actually cuddling, the women getting sappier to spite them. Raina, as the only single one, pulled up her phone as she pretended to ignore the movie in favour of digging up everything she could on the newest resident doctor at the teaching hospital from their Facebook page. Whether or not the new resident would make an appearance in Raina’s bed in the next few days was open to interpretation, but Robin doubted it would be long before a pool was going to be started on the topic. His friends were as weird as his family. 

Aversa would get over her jetlag and write up what they’d not found in a report that would go largely unnoticed by the wider public. Anna would face Old Hubba with a hangover tomorrow, but so would half of his female students. Robin’s own thesis deadline was looming, and Frederick was clearly practicing hard for his cooking courses’ final exams. Raina was pulling double shifts in the emergency room and neurosurgery department because she wanted to specialize and was ready to drop dead where she stood. But none of that mattered. 

In this crazy thing called university, everything would be just fine, as long as one had their family.

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a co-authored series that LazyWriterGirl and I are doing, alternating one-shots and short fics in this universe.


End file.
